People who frequently wear uniforms, such as military personnel, police officers, and the like, know that their appearance is extremely important and subject to constant inspection. Almost every uniform includes a pair of pants. Pants, however, have a tendency to cling to one side of the leg, to bunch up around the wearer's socks, and to seek their flat, pressed shape. As such, it has been difficult for many pant wearers to achieve and maintain a full, bloused look with their pant legs. Such a full, bloused appearance creates a more distinguished, proper, uniform appearance overall, and is consequently sought by many uniform wearers.
Several devices exist for blousing pant legs, several of which are supplied by the military. For example, one such device is simply an elastic braided rope having small interconnecting hooks on each end. The rope is typically of a color suitable for military uniforms, and is strapped around the leg and the pant leg. The pant leg is then pulled up and folded over the strap to hang in a bloused fashion. The most significant drawback to devices of this type is that the strap moves up the leg when a person walks, runs, reaches for objects in a high location, and the like. As such, the deice and the pant leg must frequently be pulled down into a proper position.
Another device, taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,475, issued on May 2, 1989, illustrates a strap with hooks for engaging the hem of a pant leg and a hook-and-loop type fastener on each of its end. Such a device has many of the same drawbacks of the aforementioned rope device in that it has a tendency to ride up on a person's leg as he or she walks, runs, stretches, or the like. Another similar device is a metal band sewn into or attached to the hem of the pants. Such a device keeps the pant leg in a circular, bloused shape, yet is difficult to use in that it must be removed before being washed, and adds significant weight to the pants. Further, such a device is also prone to riding up on a person's leg during stretching or the like.
Stirrups of the type worn with baseball uniforms are less likely to ride-up on a person's leg during exercising. Pant legs are typically tucked-up under an elastic band of such stirrups. However, pant legs tend to become untucked from such elastic stirrups easily, necessitating frequent monitoring by the wearer. Further, such stirrups are visible while worn, which is not always appropriate.
Clearly, then, there is a need for a pant blousing device that is more effectively blouses a pant leg. Such a needed device would be inexpensive to manufacture, would not be visible when worn, would be completely adjustable, and would be extremely easy to use. Such a needed device would not require constant monitoring by the wearer. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages.